Tsai Ing-wen becomes Taiwan president in landslide victory

Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Chairperson and presidential candidate Tsai Ing-wen announces her victory to the media at party headquarters in Taipei.

PHOTO: Reuters

TAIPEI - Tsai Ing-wen of Taiwan's main opposition party will become the island's first female president in a landslide victory over the ruling Kuomintang Saturday, as voters turned their backs on closer China ties.

The vote count is continuing but live television figures from polling stations show Tsai of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) has secured a historic landslide victory, with around 60 percent against 30 percent for Chu.

That would be the biggest ever win for any president in Taiwan - the previous record was 58.45 percent for current KMT president Ma Ying-jeou in 2008.

"I'm sorry... We've lost. The KMT has suffered an election defeat. We haven't worked hard enough and we failed voters' expectations," said KMT candidate Eric Chu addressing tearful crowds at the party's headquarters in Taipei.

Chu also said the KMT had lost its parliamentary majority, the first time it has ever lost control of the island's legislature.

"This is an unprecedented drastic change for the KMT," he said.

Support for Tsai has surged as voters have become increasingly uneasy about a recent rapprochement with China under Ma, who must step down after a maximum two terms.

As the economy stagnates, many are frustrated that trade pacts signed with the mainland have failed to benefit ordinary Taiwanese.

One small group held up a banner saying: "Taiwan is not part of China. Support Taiwan independence." "China has no right to claim Taiwan and we want to say that to the world," said one member of the group, Angela Shi, who returned from San Francisco to vote.

Tsai has walked a careful path on her China strategy, but the DPP is traditionally a pro-independence party and opponents say Tsai will destabilise relations.

Ma has overseen a dramatic rapprochement with China since coming to power in 2008.

Although Taiwan is self-ruling after it split with China following a civil war in 1949, it has never declared independence and Beijing stillsees it as part of its territory awaiting reunification.